While Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Amazon rush to pre-release the latest in mapping technology CrowÂ?s Eye develops an artistic niche.

release technology such as satellite maps, 3-D fly-bys, and photographic street level views, CrowÂs Eye is banking on the fact that tourists, travelers and destination marketers that serve them prefer friendlier 3-D artistic maps, which clearly convey the information travelers need to easily navigate at a location.

ÂAlthough there is a great initial ÂwowÂ factor of flying through aerial photographic 3-D views of a city, our focus group interviews revealed that users overwhelmingly preferred artistic 3-D views of the destination,Â said Bob Vander Woude, President and CEO of CrowÂs Eye. ÂMap users we interviewed told us that aerial photographs did not convey the genuine warmth, natural beauty and personality of a location, and Internet applications built upon photos did not allow the user to easily navigate while walking or driving. Our artistic 3-D representations emphasize the key elements that people need in order to navigate while exploring a city or trying to find a particular location,Â said Vander Woude.

CrowÂs Eye Internet Map Printing Software allows users to personalize and print or download colorful, hi-resolution 3-D artistic Walkabout MapsÂ, tailored to their specific interests and needs. The user-generated CrowÂs Eye maps highlight the visitorÂs places of interest, including restaurant selections, activities, entertainment and events, things to explore, driving directions between all selections, and details regarding each selection such as hours of operation and contact information.

ÂBased on our focus group interviews, we also worked closely with hotels and concierges during our development. Many users say they rely on the local knowledge of the concierge and donÂt necessarily want to navigate with a PDA or smart phone,Â said Alexander Demushkane, Founder and CTO of CrowÂs Eye. ÂWe found that concierges wanted to automate and improve the process of pulling out a standard 2-D Âflat mapÂ and annotating it with a marker. We then built our CrowÂs Eye Map Printing Kiosk Software on the same code base as our Internet Map Printing Software, yet tailored it for unattended use by visitors or as an automated tool for the concierge,Â said Demushkane.

About CrowÂs Eye, http://www.crowseye.com
CrowÂs Eye, founded in 1998 in Pacific Grove, CA, provides distinctive 3-D software map solutions for destination marketing. CrowÂs Eye Walkabout MapsÂ have been serving the marketing and advertising needs of some of AmericaÂs most prestigious tourist destinations, including Pebble Beach, Carmel, Monterey, and Palm Springs, California. CrowÂs Eye is the only software company bridging the worlds of art and map making, building on the 19th-century American tradition of ÂbirdÂs eye viewÂ historic lithographs of cities. CrowÂs Eye mapping solutions are uniquely positioned to serve the needs of destination marketing and Convention & Visitor Bureaus.

CrowÂs Eye and Walkabout Maps are trademarks of CrowÂs Eye. All other product, trademark, company or service names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.